From Now On
by MaggieFrost
Summary: Rachel has been many things; A friend, an enemy, a junkie,a one night stand, a model and a Tree Hill High graduate but her next title will prove to be the hardest and most exhilirating journey of her life; Single motherhood.
1. Chapter 1

**From Now On – chapter one **

"Just telling you now" she said sitting on the bench sipping her coffee "I'm not picking up the pieces when this fails, and it will"

"yee of little faith" he said with a wink and a smile "Okay boys, you ready for this, for it is going to be glorious" Julian said pulling up his socks and instructing the boys to also, "Okay Davis, Jude come back" he said pulling them to the edge of the room "OK GO DAVIS GO" Julian said as Davis ran "SLIDE, SLIDE, SLIDE,SLIDE YEAH" Julian and Jude shouted as Davis made it to the other side of the room at the front door. "Okay Jude, are you ready?"

"Sure am dad" Even though Brooke had to literally hold her breath when they took off, she had to hide her laughing at the looks on her kids (including Julian's) faces and the joy that they all shared when they got to the other side of the room without fatalities. She had said no but Julian had told her to "Stop stressing, It's fun mum" and she had said " Well have your fun but I will hold you personally responsible if anything breaks" she knew that if she said no that it would be like forbidden fruit and she would find them doing it in the middle of the night. "JUDE GO" Davis shouted in excitement from his position on the stairs "SLIDE"

Brooke watched as the twins shouted "YEAH" and high fived. Now obviously it was her biggest kids turn and from the look on his face he was the most excited out of all three of the boys "COME ON DADDY"

"YOU CAN DO IT DADDY" they encouraged as Brooke stifled her laughter. Julian backed up and started running "Slide" they yelled as Julian gave them the thumbs up and let out a "WHOOP" of joy. As he slid, he knew he was going to hit the door but hey that didn't matter, Julian was preparing for his door landing when the door opened with Haley looking at him coming towards her. He abruptly stopped, tumbled and stabilised breathing a sigh of relief before stumbling and landing between her feet. Brooke was now standing and the boys were looking on gobsmacked.

"Hi" he said cautiously pulling himself off the ground and breaking the ice before everyone started hysterically laughing.

"What was that?" Haley asked with a confused smile on her face

"We call that cheap entertainment here at the Davis-Baker household" Brooke said with a laugh as she finished her coffee so that she could catch a ride with Haley to work. She placed the empty cup in the sink and picked up her handbag from the end of the bench before walking over to her boys

"Come give mama a kiss please" she said crouching down to their height as they approached "Okay have fun at Granny Sylvia's and give her a big kiss from mum" Brooke said hugging and kissing each twin a couple of times, she had barely spent any time away from her boys and now Julian was taking them away from her for a week so that she could still work while he went to produce a movie close to where his mother was living, Julian had called it a time for Brooke to relax and unwind but it just stressed Brooke out really. Ever since she had had the boys three years ago chaos was normal and the quiet was unsettling so while Julian thought he was doing her a world of good she was secretly regretting ever accepting the idea. When she had finished with the boys she walked over to her husband who wrapped his arm around her torso, dragging her into an embrace "You take care of my boys! And good luck babe" she said before they kissed and she headed out the door with Haley waving. They hopped in Haley's min van and began to drive to the café, as she turned on the car nursery rhymes blared over the speakers and Brooke had to pull a barbie out from behind herself and Haley looked on entertained, usually she would be mortified if anyone could see the mess that was her car but Brooke was in the exact same boat as she was, small children and no time to herself, plus she was one of her best friends so Haley knew that Brooke knew that this was not a regularly accepted standard for her car.

"So a week without your boys how is that going to be for you?" Haley asked turning the corner and then paying half attention to Brooke

"I can't even talk about it, I cried in the bathroom last night just thinking about it." She said as Haley gave her the sympathetic mum look knowing full well that Brooke would survive the week and when the week was over demand more alone time "Guess what" Brooke said full of enthusiasm changing the subject as Haley shrugged her shoulders singing along to twinkle twinkle little star "Rachel Gattina called me last night" Brooke said before Haley swerved the car

"Whoa, really?" she said looking over to Brooke who was holding on to the car door rather tightly

"Yes speed racer; she is coming to Tree Hill for a couple of days and was wondering if she could stay with me."

"Sounds great" said Haley, her tone full of sarcasm

"Look on the bright side, I won't have to spend my week alone" Brooke said smiling at the shady lady to her left

"Bright, bright, bright" Haley said with a fake smile

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Brooke walked through her front door and out of instinct yelled "Mama's home" when she got no response she remembered that the house was completely silent because her boys weren't home. She walked to the fridge and even though it was only just on lunch time she pulled out the bottle of red wine, in the hope that a glass of red would somehow fill the silence, she had driven home in her lunch break so that she could greet Rachel when she arrived and Brooke just wished that she would arrive quicker. When the doorbell finally rang Brooke practically ran to it and swung the door open as quick as she could to the red head looking back at her, drawing her in for a hug before either of them could say anything to the shock of Rachel.

"Whoa either you're happy to see me or…" Brooke said as she looked down "Or you are FRICKEN PREGNANT" she said taking a step back and putting a hand on Rachel's massive stomach, from what Brooke assumed Rachel was very heavily pregnant and very close to her due date. Her long red hair was tied up into a pony tail and she wore a very relaxed dress that clung to her bulging abdomen in the heat, her face was fuller and her eyes nearly matched her hair colour which Brooke anticipated was from a heavy downpour of tears.

"And you are obviously as smart as you were in high school" the feisty red head responded in true Brooke and Rachel style which made Brooke laugh, as Rachel stepped inside Brooke went to hug her again but was interrupted by another set of tears "I thought I could do this on my own but I can't, I just can't" Rachel sobbed before moving over to Brooke and collapsing in a pile of tears on Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke paced up and down the hallway wondering how she had managed to get herself into this situation, she had never ever expected that this was going to be the result of Rachel coming to Tree Hill, in actually fact she had hoped that she and Rachel would have a lovely week of heavy drinking considering she had no small children or heavy machinery to take care of but well that surely wasn't something that Rachel could do in her current condition, Rachel was currently having a nap in the spare bedroom upstairs.

"My milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard, there like it's better than yours, damn right it's better than yours, I can teach you but I have to charge…..did Brooke Baker just snort?" her phone sang as it sat on the bench and for a brief moment before she darted for the phone she remembered the day that she had taped Julian singing it after she had caught him singing it to the boys and how her laughing had woken up Jude because their laughter was so loud. As quick as she could she opened it to silence it and spoke into the receiver "It's Brooke"

"Hey Cheery it's me" Haley said while clearly chewing something standing in the café, Brooke could tell by the noise of the opening door "Has Pamela Anderson shown up yet?" she asked briefly laughing at her own joke; it was no secret that Rachel and Haley weren't the closest of friends.

"She is pregnant" Brooke whispered into the receiver

"Is it yours?" Haley said before yet again laughing at her own joke

"Haley she is actually pregnant" Brooke said a little bit harsher into the receiver but she couldn't not smile at Haley she found it funnier because it was the same humour that High school Haley had.

"Holy smokes" Haley responded "Are you sure?"

"Her massive stomach is sort of pointing to the pregnant side" Brooke said looking over her shoulder to make sure that Rachel wasn't walking up the hallway

"Maybe she just had a big burger for lunch" Haley said as she sort of didn't believe what Brooke was telling her, the silence was enough of an answer "Who is the father?"

"I don't know who the father is, She came in, burst into tears and then I put her to bed" she said before another moment of a stunned Haley's questioning, Brooke turned herself around on the bench and saw Rachel walking up the hallway "Hey Hales I've got to go, I'll be back at Karen's in an hour" she said before hanging up the phone and smiling at Rachel as she waddled up to where Brooke was sitting.

"Wasn't Haley pregnant last time I was here?" she asked referring to the high school reunion, which had been the last time since Rachel had been in Tree Hill.

"Yeah she had twins about a year ago, Sam and Izzy" Brooke said not taking her eyes off Rachel but also not letting Rachel see the concern in her eyes

"And what is with all the baby stuff in the spare room?" Rachel asked hoisting herself up onto one of the bench stools

"Peyton and Lucas just had another baby" she said turning so that she was facing her

"It's like animal planet in Tree Hill these days, so much mating"

"And you've joined the madness" Brooke said before placing her hands onto Rachel's stomach for the second time in an hour "Want to tell me about it?" she asked

"Not particularly" she responded trying to avoid Brooke's gaze but failing and falling into the trap "Fine! It's a boy and its due in two weeks" she said as Brooke thought to herself 'Whoa she is really pregnant. I wonder how many times she had to stop and go to the toilet on the trip here'

"How did it happen?" was Brooke's real question as Rachel looked at her with a 'you've got to be kidding me' look "I don't mean the sex part, I know how babies are made"

"I had a one night stand, got pregnant, thought to myself that this could be my only chance and then decided to keep it"

"Does the Father know?"

"That I'm pregnant?"

"No, that there is a high possibility of that baby coming out with Red hair" she cursed herself, somehow she had caught Haley's jokes

"He isn't the kid type" she said looking down at her stomach as Brooke's churned instantly regretting the joke she had just made.

Brooke soon after left to go back to work, telling Rachel to come in and visit her at the café later that afternoon and telling her that she could knock off work early if she came in and they could go shopping. But before Rachel went to the café she had decided that she wanted to re-familiarise herself with Tree Hill. She went to grab her bag to leave but hesitated, grabbing out her mobile she dialled the number and waited for the message bank which she always got, "This is Owen, you know the drill leave a message at the beep"

"Hi Owen its Rachel! I know that you said that you didn't want to know but I'm in Tree Hill with Brooke, you might be wondering why I am calling to let you know, well even though you don't want him I'm having this baby" she took a deep breath "Your baby! And you deserve to know where he is" Rachel said before hanging up the phone and heading out the door.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**From Now On – chapter two**

Rachel walked into Karen's café and scanned to try and find her friend, she eventually rested to a spot behind the counter where Brooke stood talking and laughing with Haley, not wanting to interrupt their conversation she stood and waited, soon enough Brooke saw her and a smile formed on her face "Hey Rachel" she called out over the café looking towards the red head and indicating that she should move forward.

"Wow I didn't think those boobs could get any bigger" Haley said to Brooke looking forwards before Brooke slapped her on the arm, she let out a smile and then walked over to serve another customer.

"Sit down and have something eat, I will be done soon" Brooke said walking in front of the counter and directing Rachel towards a clear table and pulling out the chair so that she could be seated. Brooke walked then back behind the counter forcing Haley to take Rachel's order.

As Haley did so Rachel looked over her shoulder and noticed Nathan walking in with who she would soon find out to be Lydia, she smirked and looked back up to Haley "Nathan is still pretty hot" she teased as Haley looked behind herself to her husband's warm eyes.

"And still very married" she responded looking down at the order pad

"That's never stopped me" she continued just trying to maintain the relationship that they had in high school

"Same old Rachel" Haley responded before turning around to walk into the kitchen before pinching the ridge of her nose and turning back to the smug red head, or what she had perceived as the smug red head " I have a whole bunch of baby clothes, both genders, if you want them. Oh and you are welcome to use our pool if you get too uncomfortable" Haley said surprising not only herself but Rachel as well, so Rachel decided to surprise Haley right back

"Thankyou" she said with a smile. Haley thought of how much she had changed since high school and decided to give Rachel the benefit of the doubt that she may have grown up somewhat since her somewhat sluttier days back in those school days. Haley walked over to Nathan and they embraced before she scooped her eldest daughter Lydia up in her arms and span her around, from what Rachel perceived it was a happy family moment, one that she would never have, she wouldn't be standing in a crowded café with a man at her side telling her constantly how beautiful she was and holding her hand as their child knelt on the counter stool and ordered her own food, Rachel would be standing alone in front of her child knowing full well that his father wouldn't be with him, and that he wouldn't be with him or her by choice. She felt her eyes well up and practically ran out of the café, without word or without explanation; well it was more of a quick walk since her current state made it quite difficult to run anywhere. Brooke looked up from talking to Lydia to the door that Rachel was running out of back to Haley who was doing the same

"What did you say to her?" Brooke asked as her own eyes filled with confusion as Haley met her gaze and shrugged her shoulders

"I said she could have my baby clothes and swim in my pool" she said

"Anything else?" Brooke prodded her friend, knowing in full probability that Haley hadn't said anything to upset her, Haley didn't have a mean bone in her body, well she did but she only brought it out on special occasions, but knowing Rachel and Haley's history Brooke had to ask

"I asked her if she wanted fries with that" Haley responded

X-x-x-x-x-x

She didn't really know why she was standing here, why she was standing on the steps of TRIC, but then again she wasn't sure why she was in Tree Hill at all, she thought it might have to do with the fact that Brooke still lived here, because even through the bad times Brooke was there for her, after a fair bit of hatred. She had lost full contact with Brooke after stealing her money and cried for weeks wondering how she had let such a friend slip away from her but her faith was rekindled on the night of the school reunion when despite everything Brooke had just held her, not yelled or slapped or called the police like Rachel had originally expected, she just held her and she knew instantly knew that if Brooke was the only friend she had then she had pretty amazing and awesome friends. Now she stood on the steps of TRIC, she had remembered Owen telling her that Chase was still working here and right now she just felt desperate, this desperation reminded her of the Hot Uncle Cooper days. She took in a deep breath and walked in, she looked around and her gaze fell upon Chase behind the counter talking to a girl, Rachel assumed that it was Alex Dupre, both Owen and Brooke had told her how smitten Chase was with her. Rachel walked over to the bar and took a seat.

"I'm sorry we aren't open yet" he said before quickly glancing over to her "Rachel" he said with a smile

"You're not exactly a clean teen now" Rachel said looking back at the girl who had just kissed his cheek and walked out.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the smile not leaving his lips

"You know visiting Brooke, Uhmm have you talked to Owen?" she asked not willing to look Chase in the eyes, he didn't really notice this

"Yeah we talk about once every two weeks, he is opening up his own bar in New York, think he might have a girlfriend cause he isn't slutting around as much" he said with a smile not really knowing the significance to this conversation or the reason that Rachel was asking, he assumed it was because once a very long time ago Owen had saved her life and she just wanted to check up on him. He worked out that he was most probably wrong when Rachel burst into tears.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" he said crossing the bar to try and get to her to comfort her, he had only seen her chest and up from where she was sitting and he had paid no attention to her bigger bust and fuller face but when he crossed to go and sit down and comfort her he saw her rounded belly and instantly noticed the bigger bust and fuller face, felling stupid for not noticing it beforehand. "WHOA" he responded "You're Pregnant" she nodded as tears fell down her face, he looked back into his mind and tried to think of exactly what he had said to get her to the point of sadness.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase sat in bed that night when Alex walked in, she was in her pyjamas and sat down on the edge of the bed in front of him, sweeping her dark hair over her shoulder and rubbing moisturizer on her legs, it was her usual routine and usually somewhere between the sitting down and finished moisturizing Chase would make an attempt to crack onto his very attractive girlfriend, but tonight was different he sat quite looking off into the distance, worrying about Rachel and how upset she was.

"Chase Adams, I am looking particularly good tonight what is wrong with you?" she said attempting to get his attention, when his attention didn't budge she went and sat down on his lap which instantly drew his attention back to her.

"Sorry what?" he asked looking at her concerned face

"What's wrong?" she asked moving off him and sitting down on the opposite side of the bed, his eyes followed her every move

"Can you remember Rachel from the high school reunion?" he asked and she nodded "She came into TRIC when you were leaving"

"Well then I'm not sure if I know who you are talking about cause I only saw a Pregnant….Rachel is pregnant"

"Yeah but that's not the point, we were talking and she just burst into tears, I'm not sure why and I am really worried" he said looking with full concern at his girlfriend

"Okay" she said putting a supportive hand on his thigh "What was it exactly that you said to her?"

"We were talking about Owen and his new bar" he said with a gulp still not understanding "Maybe she was upset because she was pregnant and couldn't drink"

"Don't be an idiot! How does she know Owen?" now Alex's curiosity was spiked

"Back when Brooke and Owen were sort of dating she took him back to New York to see her apartment or something, they walked into the apartment and found Rachel practically dead, Owen threw her in the shower and saved her life"

"Anything else?" she asked

"Yeah" he said thinking back a couple of months to a conversation he had had with Owen "They met up recently"

"Met up?" Alex questioned and Chase winked at her "OH MY GOD I'VE GOT IT" Alex yelled before standing up on the bed, as Chase looked at her confused and offered a hand for her to sit back down and explain it all to him. "When did Owen tell you that they met up?" she asked, she had met Owen briefly when they had gone to New York together but she knew of him before hand and of him sleeping with Millicent.

"Uhmm it was like nine months ago" he said still not getting it

"And how pregnant do you reckon Rachel is?" Alex said continuing to hint Chase towards her own conclusion

"OH MY GOD RACHEL IS HAVING OWEN'S BABY" Chase said now standing up on the bed with Alex close behind him, happy that he had finally worked it out "And I told her that I thought Owen had a girlfriend because he wasn't slutting around as much anymore" he said putting his hand on his palm rather hard.

"Oh no you didn't" she said looking on at him.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Thanks Mouth" Chase said as Mouth helped to put down the last Keg behind the bar, Chase was waiting patiently, well actually not so patiently, for Rachel to come into TRIC so that he could confirm or deny this whole Owen is the father thing but time just seemed to be going to slow, he stood there talking to Mouth when Mouth all of a sudden stopped talking forcing Chase to look up at him and his awestruck look.

"Is that Rachel?" he asked as Chase looked behind him "and is she pregnant?" Mouth said before running up to her and hugging her, by this stage Chase was practically beside himself and could just wait no longer, he fast paced walked up to the red head and the smiling dork and went straight out with the question.

"Is Owen the father?" this question got shocked looks from both Mouth and Rachel, Rachel because Chase had somehow worked out what she was trying so hard to hide and Mouth because he really wasn't a fan of Owen.

"Please don't tell Brooke" she pleaded as more tears rolled down her face and Chase quickly whisked her over to an open booth, considering TRIC was still closed it wasn't hard to find one, he sat her down and rushed to get her a glass of water before going over to where Mouth still stood frozen muttering "Owen?" into open air, Chase quickly whisked him over to the booth as well and got him a glass of water too.

"How?" Chase asked placing a hand on Rachel's

"You know we met at some bar in New York and we both knew that we knew each other and so we got to talking and we worked out that he had saved my life and all of a sudden we were in my hotel room together"

"And does he know that you are pregnant?" he asked remembering but not mentioning the fact that throughout all the conversations they had had in recent times there was no mention of an impending baby with one of his closest friends genes, it wasn't something that Owen would usually keep from Chase.

Rachel gulped and looked down at the table not loving reliving this part of her life "After we had sex he left me his number for next time I was in town, and I never really intended on using it again but when I found out I was pregnant I called him straight away and we met up for coffee, by the look on his face I knew he thought he was going to get some more action and so I told him about the baby"

"And what did he do?" Chase asked suddenly feeling a little embarrassed that he hadn't know this vital piece of information, he thought about the foundation of his and Owen's relationship and doubted it's strength

"He looked at me in shock for about half an hour and then told me that he was the 'kid type'" she said using her fingers to make the quotation marks "And so I told him that I was going to keep it and he told me that he couldn't stop me but he wasn't going to be part of it, that I would have to do it alone" she said as tears formed in her eyes and she looked down at the table

"HE WHAT" Chase responded in quite a high pitched tone

"Owen?" Mouth muttered still reeling from the start of the conversation

"Mouth" Chase said harshly bringing Mouth out of his little haze

"I mean Bastard" Mouth chimed in.

"I still call him, and you know fill him in on all things baby, just in case you know he changes his mind but he never answers the phone when I call" she said as Chase sat across from her getting increasingly more aggravated as seconds ticked past and now knowing full well why Owen had changed his mobile number, he was hiding from his own responsibilities.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase stood next to Mouth in front of the door; they had knocked and were now just waiting for the door to be answered. Chase wasn't exactly sure how they had gotten here, they had walked Rachel to her car and each vowed to not tell Brooke who the father of her baby was, they waved with smiles as she drove off but as soon as she was out of sight they turned to each other with not so happy looks on their faces, they were angry and somehow that anger had gotten them all the way to New York. Chase asked Mouth if he was up for it and Mouth had said "That guys now slept with two of my girlfriends before me" which Chase took as a 'Yes, Let's kick some ass'. Their anger subsided on the flight that they had boarded because of the cheap airfare and comfortable seats and food but returned as they landed and remembered what had happened and why they were angry.

Owen opened the door and smiled at his friend Chase, holding his arms open indicating that he wanted a hug from his friend.

"Smug Bastard, Can I punch him?" Mouth asked with an angry look in his eye

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

**From now on – chapter three**

"I can't believe you would do something like this" Chase said ignoring Mouth's previous request and looked straight towards Owen.

"Can I punch him?" Mouth continued to ask

"What are you talking about?" Owen said over the top of Mouth to his close friend

"I never thought that you would ever do anything like this" Chase continued

"Can I please punch him?" Mouth pleaded

"I don't have a clue what you are talking about" Owen said with a confused look on his face

"Can I punch him?" Mouth said turning to Chase with the look of an impatient child in the supermarket who wanted some candy.

"Sure Mouth punch him" Chase said making Mouth smile with glee before correcting his stance and attempting to throw a punch, Owen ducked and Mouth punched air before Owen picked him up and hoisted him up on his shoulder before heading into the apartment with him, Mouth had a look of shock and terror on his face assuming that Owen was taking him inside to fight back. Chase followed behind not sure where Owen was taking Mouth; Owen took Mouth out to the balcony put him down and shut the door before locking it and walking inside, standing in front of Chase.

"Okay now we have some peace, Chase can you please tell me what is going on?" he said looking at his friends irritated face and ignoring the knocking on the glass door behind them.

"Rachel is what's going on" he responded with venom in his response

"What about her?" he asked not sure of what Chase knew and what he didn't know

"She is having your baby and you have just abandoned her" he said wishing that he was taller than Owen so he could actually stand up to him properly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa abandoning implies that I had promised her something and gone back on it, I told her from the beginning that I couldn't and wouldn't be involved with this child"

"This child? Is that really what you are calling it? This child is YOUR child Owen and not only is it your child but it is your son" he said getting on his lecturing tone.

"And what is the mighty mouth so upset about?" Owen asked ignoring Chase's statement and indicating to the small man that had stopped knocking and was now standing with his arms crossed sending a dirty look into the house.

"Owen you just don't respect or understand others emotions and feelings, Mouth is upset because you first of all slept with his girlfriend and now you have impregnated his and my friend and have abandoned her"

"Look Chase I don't need this from you okay, it really is none of your business and I am not one hundred per cent what you want me to do about all this?"

"I want you to stop being such an ass, but hey it's none of my business with what you do with your life" he said before shoving past him, he was surprised that he actually could but he supposed it was because Owen wasn't expecting it and had no reason to Chase had never shoved him before, Chase walked to the glass door and unlocked it and Owen who continued to stand still heard Mouth say "Seriously Dude did we win?" before they walked back in as Chase directed Mouth to walk straight past Owen but Mouth couldn't help himself as he went to walk out the door he turned around "Don't mess with the Mouth" he said angrily before slamming the door, Owen was a bit taken back and stood completely silent hearing his friend say "Feel Better?" to who he assumed was Mouth as they walked out of what Owen thought possibly could be Chase walking out of his life forever considering that altercation.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"So who is that one?" Rachel asked pointing to the picture on the far left of the photo album as she looked up at Brooke; they sat on the balcony with their feet up looking through photo albums

"That is Leo, he is Peyton and Lucas' middle child" she said lifting up her wine glass to her lips and taking a big sip before sitting it back down as she looked of the photo of the one year old sitting on her lap at the zoo next to the monkey cage as the little boy pointed up towards the sky.

"Now are we sure that he is Lucas', I mean I have seen their daughter and she looks exactly like them, this kid has black hair, where did that come from?"

"Yes we are sure that it is Lucas' believe me we checked, Little Leo gets his mane from his grandma"

"And who is this?" she said pointing to the little girl with Brooke in the picture, they both had their tongues out with their hair in two little buns on the tops of their heads

"That's Loopy Lydia Scott, Nathan and Haley's girl" she said smiling at the picture in front of her

"Was she at the café today?" Rachel asked

"Mhmmmm" Brooke said flipping the page to the next one and locked eyes with the picture of her kissing Jude, and her eyes began to well, she wiped away a tear as Rachel looked at her

"What are you crying about now?" Rachel asked, ten minutes beforehand she had cried about the toy the boys left on the floor, or when they hung up the phone from grandma's house, she looked down to where Brooke had been looking and sighed knowing exactly why Brooke was crying "You know what I have reason to cry, I am full of hormones and facing single motherhood, you should be rejoicing in the fact that you don't have to change nappies for a week"

"They are Three, they don't wear nappies anymore. You should probably know that"

"Ooh advanced children, whatever, No need to cry. It's a need to get incredibly drunk"

"I can't drink in front of the poor pregnant and sober woman" Brooke said as the tears cleared up

"I would be if you were pregnant" she said looking back to Brooke

"Forget it" Brooke said picking up her wine glass and shrugging off the irony.

Rachel took the hint and flipped to the next page, a page dedicated to the recent addition; Ellie Scott, there was a picture of Brooke holding her, then one of Julian holding her with the boys leaning over him to inspect the little girl, next to it sat one with all four girls; Sawyer, Brooke, Peyton and Ellie, lying on the floor in a circle with their heads connecting, but the last one was the one that caught Rachel's attention, it was a full body picture of Peyton standing next to a crib with the small baby resting near her shoulder

"Wow, she lost the baby weight quickly, that restores some faith after my mother told me that my body would never be the same again and that she could have been a model if it wasn't for me the day I told her that I was pregnant"

"I hate to tell you this but Peyton and Lucas used a surrogate" she said as Rachel looked on at her curiously " Peyton nearly died having Sawyer" Brooke gulped realising that that probably wasn't the best story to tell to a pregnant woman who was going to have her baby incredibly soon.

"Well now that has first of all squashed my hopes of a normal body and scared me just a little bit" she said with a hint of a smile as she turned to Brooke before looking back down at the photo album and then laughed "I love that picture" she said looking down as Brooke came over to see which photo she was talking about, she indicated to the last one on the page of Brooke's three boys on the beach, shirtless and flexing their muscles.

"Yeah I have it on a canvas on our bedroom wall" she smiled

"You look hot in that one" she indicated towards the one of Brooke jumping into the pool holding each of the boy's hands. "You did make pretty cute kids, even if all kids are by definition always annoying and sticky"

"You're going to have to get used to that" she said looking down at the picture of the previous Halloween, where Davis dressed up as a cowboy and Jude dressed up as a lion, Davis had caught Jude in his lasso.

"Yeah I guess I am going to have to" she said putting her hand on her own stomach and flipping to the next page and looked down at pages dedicated to Brooke's last birthday, there was photos with all her friends and family, she was taken in by a photo of Haley, Brooke and Peyton posing in front of the camera all laughing at something happening to the right and Rachel instantly wanted to be there, be in the space of close friends for a mutual close friends birthday party, to celebrate. She wanted to be in that moment of time with Brooke, she had to stop herself from thinking it for if she kept thinking this way she was going to burst into tears, so she looked back down at the photo album at a photo of Brooke on Nathan's shoulder clearly smiling while screaming, and then to the photos of all the couples followed and she just couldn't help it, tears began to form and Brooke recognised it before quickly flipping the page for Brooke.

"I know that you don't want to talk about it but I am your friend and you have nothing to be ashamed of, who is the father of your baby?" Rachel sighed not knowing what to do next, what to even say next, so she decided to bite the bullet and just do it

"It's Owens baby, I am having Owen's baby" she said and as it left her lips it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, Brooke just looked at her for a moment

"Owen as in…?" she asked not sure how to proceed with this

"Yes, we met about well nine months ago and we connected because you know we had both been junkies and he had saved my life, it was only once"

Brooke threw back the rest of her wine into her mouth and down her throat before composing herself and looking at Rachel "Okay" she said with a smile and staring back at the photo album finding the one of Skills and Julian rapping, Julian was wearing his baseball cap backwards and looking at the camera with a goofy grin.

"So you don't even mind?" Rachel asked looking on expecting more of a reaction than that to the revelation that she had just put on her lap.

"Of course I mind, Owen the idiot has left you alone and pregnant, that pisses me off, but you sleeping with Owen doesn't bother me, not at all, considering I never slept with him anyway. Just as long as you don't have sex or try to have sex with Julian cause then that will be all my boyfriends" she said not realising how harsh of a tone that statement had come out in "Sorry"

"I know it is none of my business, but why did you and Owen break up?" she asked flipping the pages and glancing at the pictures, Brooke sure had a big collection of them, she smiled at the one of Brooke and Mouth sitting intensely talking to each other and then another one of Haley and Brooke making funny faces at the camera with Face masks and hair curlers in with the title 'embracing the elderly' and then another one of a shirtless Mouth with all the girls surrounding making surprised faces as they touched his barely excitant abs.

"He didn't want kids and I did" she said and Rachel let out a laugh which made Brooke turn full of concern to her

"Well nothing has changed then" she said continuing to laugh hysterically before she said something untranslatable that Brooke somehow understood as she joined in on the hysterical roof laughing, someone surely would call the psychiatric ward if they kept this up.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Rachel was sitting in bed in her comfiest summer pyjamas and her bed socks, yes she was a classy woman, she put the baby book name down next to her and picked up her phone, pressing eight on the speed dial "Hi it's Owen you know the drill"

"Owen it's me Rachel but you probably know that and that is probably why you are not answering this right now, I just told Brooke that you were the father of my baby and you know what we did, we laughed at how pathetic it was that you still had your same phobia of growing up and having kids, One day you are going to realise that you want to start a family and I hope on that day you realise that you cannot call me and cannot see or know the son that you abandoned, so there" she said before hanging up the phone and sighing a breath of relief, that outburst had some what helped her too. Rachel picked the baby book back up, smiled and continued to read it when Brooke entered the room with a massive smile on her face.

"HI" she said full of excitement

"What is so exciting?" Rachel asked looking up from the name book

"I have come to the conclusion" she said jumping on the bed next to her and lying on the empty side "That I am going to throw you a baby shower"

"No"

"It will be at Karen's and it will be small and elegant"

"No"

"You will get heaps of presents" Brooke finished off knowing it was the thing that she herself couldn't resist.

"I will think about it" Rachel responded looking back down at the book as she began to call out names while Brooke linked arms with her and listened on.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"….and I hope on that day you realise that you cannot call me and cannot see or know the son that you abandoned, so there" said the message playing back to him, he hadn't turned on this particular phone in at least seven months and the messages had piled up, he listened intently as the messages went on and on about this baby that he hadn't even wanted, but still cause havoc on his life. The last one he got to made him burst into tears and press replay at least one hundred times that very night "Hi Owen it's Rachel, I know you don't want to know but in the hopes of changing your mind I am going to tell you anyway, Today I went to the doctor and I heard our babies heartbeat and it was glorious and magnificent and extraordinary but also terribly heartbreaking, and somehow in that examination room I fell in love. Don't freak out I don't mean you I mean this baby growing inside of me and I am in complete and total awe. So the doctor sent me home with the tape and I thought you might like to hear our babies heartbeat….." she said before a silence, he waited for a second before a strong heartbeat came through his phone speakers, it continued for about three minutes "Isn't it absolutely amazing? Okay I will leave you alone now"

To be continued!


	4. Chapter 4

**From now on – chapter four**

"I guess it is your turn to avoid my phone calls now, I suppose I deserve that, in fact I probably deserve anything bad you can throw at me for what I have put you through the last eight months. So Chase came all the way to New York to tell me what he thought of me and at first I thought hey she has turned my friend against me, but I did realise that the reason he is so worked up about this all when I originally thought that it had nothing to do with him at all, he has and always will attempt to push me to do the right thing by myself, he is looking out for me that boy is whether he or I realise it or not. I guess you deserve an explanation, babies are a big deal and I just don't see myself with a child right now you know me Rachel we talked about it before we had sex that night at the club in New York I crave my independence.." she instantly hung up the phone not willing to let herself listen to anymore, Rachel was sitting across from her with tears in her eyes as they both looked at the phone that sat on the coffee table in front of them, Rachel had come out into the living room for upstairs with this look on her face and Brooke could tell just from the look that she was so close to bursting into tears but she was remaining strong and noble in true Rachel form, she simply said "Get a load of this" before turning on speaker phone and setting it down, But as the message continued to play she knew it was getting to her and it should be because it was getting to Brooke as well.

"Forget him" she said as she turned away from Rachel and quickly wiped her eyes and her nose "He totally isn't worthy of your brain space, there are so many other better things to talk about like your baby shower" she said with a smile, Brooke was pretty sure that she was more excited than Rachel herself.

"Yeah" Rachel said with a reassuring smile, not sure whether she was attempting to reassure and soothe herself or if it was intended towards soothing Brooke.

"Now I have to go set up" she said as she crossed the room and picked up her handbag all prepared to head to the café "You know what time you have to be there?" she asked with a smile, the red head matched it and nodded. "Great I will see you then"

X-x-x-x-x-x

"I am so fricken mad" she said storming into TRIC and right up to the bar where Chase stood, taken back by Brooke's sudden appearance

"I'm guessing that you heard about it being Owen's baby then"

"Yes I and I am so fricken AHH" she said assuming that he would understand the feeling she was trying to express, she threw down her handbag and took a seat at the bar, it was clear from her body language that she was angry and emotional

"I know it sucks Brooke but I think it is something that we just have to get over"

"What?" she said clearly outraged by something that Chase said

"I mean she is your friend, she made a mistake and she is certainly suffering for it" he said looking at her not sure why Brooke had gotten so upset with him, they had always been able to speak freely about anything around each other.

"Wait what are you talking about?"

"I was talking about how you shouldn't be mad at Rachel because you know she loves you and she wouldn't want to intentionally hurt you. What are you talking about?"

"Oh I know that, if I got mad every time she attempted to sleep with my boyfriend's then we wouldn't be friends right now, I'm talking about how mad I am that Owen has left Rachel pregnant and alone because he is too scared to grow some balls and embrace fatherhood. I mean it was one thing to freak out on me about the whole Angie thing and to be such an Asshole about the whole Sam thing but they weren't his own flesh and blood, this kid who is like about to burst out into the world, that is HIS kid, that kid is going to be half red head and half commitment phobic and he has to at least acknowledge that" she exclaimed, having to catch her breathe afterwards.

"Oh well then we are in agreement" he said with a smile before deciding that this wasn't an appropriate time for a cute Chase smile.

"And you know what I don't know what to do, Rachel is in my spare bedroom constantly on the verge of tears, we always had this ability of expressing how much we loved each other through insults, I know it sounds weird but it was our thing and I am scared that if I even attempt to do that now that I will make her cry, also this Owen situation what am I supposed to do with that information, I mean when it was just some cruddy guy abandoning my pregnant friend I sent bad vibes into the whole stupid universe, now I have all this information and nothing to do with it. Did it help going to New York and giving him a piece of his mind?" Chase was surprised by the last part, he wasn't aware that anyone else knew that he had flown to New York earlier that week, other than Mouth who had promised not to tell anyone after Chase threatened to tell anyone that he told that Owen picked up Mouth and threw him over his shoulder.

"Mouth certainly thought it did, I'm not sure if it helped me at all" he said looking down to the glass in his hand that he was meticulously cleaning

"Mouth went with you?"

"Yeah he had something to prove with Owen anyway, but Owen locked him out on the balcony so he missed the majority of the whole serious discussion"

"I thought you promised that if I didn't say anything you wouldn't tell anyone that" Mouth said walking up behind Brooke

"I just assumed that you told her considering I didn't and no else is supposed to know"

"Well I didn't tell her, who told you?" Mouth said turning to Brooke

"Owen called Rachel this morning and said that Chase had come to visit him and that he thought he should just clarify that he craved independence" she said practically turning red with anger just having to say the words

"Man I hate that guy" Mouth said looking off into the distance, Brooke looked at him and then turned to Chase with a question look which Chase responded to with a shrug of his shoulders

"I have to go and set up a baby shower now" she said with a not so happy look on her face as she waved and walked off

"Hey Brooke" Chase said causing her to turn around "Smile" he requested and she put on her best fake smile.

X-x-x-x-x-x

When Rachel walked into the café it was completely different from the previous days that she had come to visit Brooke at work today it was filled with Blue streamers and balloons, to the right of where she stood she saw a table reserved for obviously presents, it was absolutely filled. Usually when she walked into the café she tried to blend into the life around her, no one really noticing her presence, they just went on and continued with their days and their lives, today was different everyone that filled the café was looking at her with smiles plastered on their faces, all of a sudden this feeling of love and excitement made its way through her body, these people were here celebrating the impending birth of her baby boy.

Rachel spent the rest of the afternoon laughing at what surrounded her, eating, opening presents, eating and being asked what she was going to name her baby, a smile constantly covered her face. She sat at a table with her feet up on an opposite chair with a piece of cake sitting on her stomach, see that was the only perk she saw out of having a growing stomach, she wished that she could still drink so then at least she could rest a beer on her stomach on the days when she lacked a coffee table, but she was determined to do this pregnancy without a drop of alcohol and she had nearly made it. Rachel watched as all the people Brooke had assembled played games and talked about their own children or their ambitions to have children, she had noticed this herself that the growing stomach and the ambition of pregnancy somehow opened up the flood gates to every person in her life to divulge their family plans. Brooke walked over and sat down next to her, throwing her feet to another empty chair "Peyton said to send her congratulations" she said before taking a bite out of her own slice of blue frosted chocolate cake "Are you having fun?" she asked, like any hostess would

"Yeah" she said unable to hide how she actually thought of the party, no one really threw her a party before and she was overwhelmed by the whole situation "And all this free stuff has made this baby worth having, I'm considering having another one just so I can get another diaper warmer" Rachel said as Brooke laughed next to her.

"Have you decided what you are going to name it?" Brooke asked as Rachel added to the tally of people who had already asked that question today, Haley came over and sat with them as Rachel contemplated telling them what she had decided

"Yeah I have" she said with a smile as she looked down at her stomach and placed a hand upon it

Brooke let out a shriek of excitement and anticipated waited for Rachel to tell her "Do you want to hear it?" she asked the two girls ferociously nodding at her "William Ray Gatina" she said, just saying the name made her grin. Both Brooke and Haley smiled and nodded saying that it was a perfect name for the new addition to the rather large Tree Hill extended family, Brooke wasn't shocked to hear that she had chosen to not use Owen's last name.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Thank you so much for today Brooke" She said grinning down at her closest friend from where she sat perched on the couch, Brooke was sitting on the floor in front of her with the nail polish out and a stupidly goofy grin on her face, Not only did Rachel assume that Brooke was high on blue frosting but tonight was the night that Julian came home with the boys and she was so excited and nervous, she wasn't nervous about them being home she was nervous that they weren't okay or that they weren't going to make it home alive, So to distract her and use Brooke to her own advantage she asked her if she would paint her toe nails considering she couldn't even reach her toe nails at that point.

"You are so very welcome" Brooke said looking up at her, the door opened and Brooke excitably jumped up from her spot on the floor to where her boys had just ran into the room, Rachel was pretty sure that she was going to squash them if she hugged them any tighter. Julian walked in and while Brooke and he kissed the two boys walked over and looked at Rachel, neither of them had really met Rachel and even if they had they wouldn't recall her in her current condition. Brooke rushed over and put a hand on each of the boy's shoulders as Julian came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"This is one of my friends Rachel" she said as the boys smiled at her, the second that stranger danger was eliminated they turned into little social bunnies. Brooke leant over and picked up the nail polish brush where she had thrown it in excitement

"What are you doing mama?" Davis asked as he attached himself to his mother's torso, Rachel knew instantly that he was the mummy's boy but she didn't doubt that Jude was either, if Brooke was her mother she would be a mummy's girl, she doubted that anyone could resist Brooke.  
>"I am painting Rachel's toe nails" she said putting a hand on Davis' head<p>

"Can we do it mummy?" Jude said walking over from where his dad stood at the fridge

"Yeah mummy can we?" Davis added looking up to his mum

"You will have to ask Rachel" Brooke said as all three eyes turned to Rachel, all with identical manipulating smiles

"What the hell, go for it, I can't see my toes anyway"

X-x-x-x-x-x

"I am so glad you are home" she said sitting down on the bed next to him in her pyjamas

"Are you gladder that the boys are home or me?" he asked with a cheeky smile, knowing full well that Brooke needed her boys to function.

"Don't make me decide between my men" she said with a smile as Julian pulled her down onto him and kissed her, he didn't necessarily have sex on the mind, he had just in the past week missed the closeness that he and his wife shared, so she simply put her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"How is Rachel doing?" he asked as he stroked her brown hair

"I think she is okay, it is hard on her and I really just want to kick Owen in the balls for her" for a moment after she spoke they lay in a comfortable silence each immersed in their own thoughts, as they began to speak again there was a knock on the door, Brooke assumed that it was one of the boys and told them to come in, she was as shocked as Julian when a hysterically crying Rachel was found standing in the doorway "What is wrong?" Brooke said getting up off Julian

"Sorry for interrupting" she said as Brooke walked over to her and Julian sat up on the edge of the bed, he to shared his wife's worry.

"Don't be ridiculous babe, has Owen called again?" Brooke asked as Rachel shook her head "What's wrong?" she said as she stood right in front of her

"I feel weird" she said before another intense downpour of tears "I think my waters broke"

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

***Authors note- **So the first five chapters have been more about Rachel's return and the reactions of the Tree Hill gang to the news of Rachel's pregnancy and to sort of fill Rachel and the readers of this story in on what is going on in the world of Tree Hill at the time that Rachel returned, the story itself hasn't zoned in on Rachel that much, this was because I didn't originally intend on making this a story about Rachel, her son and single motherhood it was more about the reuniting of friends and how no matter what true friends are there for the other through the best and worst times, but as I wrote the story and planned this little boy I kind of fell in love with the story and wanted to explore it more, so now this story is not only going to be about the true friendship of Brooke and Rachel, it is also going to be about the bonds and the journeys made for Rachel and her baby boy.

I am not affiliated with One Tree Hill in anyway; these stories are purely for my own enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of others.

**From now on – chapter five **

When Rachel stood in Brooke and Julian's room and told them that she was in labour it had caused mixed emotions, Julian freaked out and nearly cried, Brooke screamed and started jumping around in excitement, she had started jumping around and while Rachel so wanted to join in on the jumping around she didn't want to start jumping and cause the baby to fall out. Brooke threw on her clothes and told Julian to go and get Rachel's bag from upstairs so that they could head to the hospital. Julian was going to stay home with the boys while they went and then join them at the hospital the next morning when Nathan could come over and watch the boys for them. While Brooke got dressed Rachel started making her way to the living room, she stood there for a minute, and placing a hand on her stomach she smiled thinking to herself that she soon got to hold her baby in her arms, and while she thought about Owen at that moment in time she tried to push it to the back of her mind because he wasn't important today. Brooke came out of the bedroom in her best yoga pants and boots, she knew that this could take a very long time and she had no plans on leaving so the outfit was all about comfort, and so was Rachel's. They drove to the hospital and laughed as they walked in, Brooke found a wheelchair and even though Rachel told her that she didn't need it Brooke practically forced her into it and then proceeded in running her up the hospital hallway, nearly into the wall making them both stop for a moment and laugh hysterical. They were completely distracted and both jumped when a doctor came up behind them to make sure that everything was okay. While Rachel just jumped up in the chair and put a protective hand on her stomach, Brooke fully jumped around.

"Sorry I didn't mean to….Brooke" he said with this look of recognition on his face and then a smile

"Ethan" she said returning the smile, as Rachel did made a noise that indicated that she wanted to be included in the conversation her head desperately trying to turn in a way that would make her do this, Brooke apologised and fully turned her wheelchair around "This is Rachel" she said as the red head turned on her charm as even Brooke laughed at the fact that even in labour she was flirting.

"Hi" the doctor said as he pulled his arm out and shook her hand "So what brings you two to here? Can I help you with anything?" he asked his voice filled with sincerity

"Rachel here is having a baby, right this very second actually" Brooke said as she smiled at him, remembering how nice he was when she had Angie and he performed the surgery on her, he was just a nice guy.

"Well I'm no expert in that but I can find you a colleague that is all about that sort of stuff" he said as he indicated that they follow him down the hallway, Brooke wheeling Rachel down after him

"Thank you so much Ethan" she said with her charm on full speed as Brooke rolled her eyes, Brooke leant down and whispered in her ear

"Cool it preggers" she said with a laugh as Rachel looked up to her with a smile. Doctor Ethan Copeland took them up the hallway and into the elevator to the maternity ward, he helped to admit her and then take her to a spare room where he instructed her to get changed into a gown, before leaving to go and find his colleague, soon he was back with a smiling woman that walked in and introduced herself to the girl.

"Well I will leave you to it, Rachel good luck and it was nice to see you Brooke" he said as she walked over and they awkwardly hugged.

"Hey married lady, how do you know the spunk?" she asked as the doctor asked her to put her legs up in the stirrups, the doctor in front of her giggled, obviously she had heard Dr Copeland being referred to as a spunk and Brooke didn't doubt that she had been involved in those conversations herself.

"I met Dr Copeland" she made the effort to say his last name instead of his first "When I had baby Angie with me, he operated on her little heart, saved her life"

"Oh life saver, did you throw him a floatation devise?" she said raising her eyebrows towards Brooke as she and the doctor laughed, a look of uncomfortableness as the doctor disappeared under the white sheet that sat on her knees.

"No I didn't" Brooke said as she walked over to where Rachel lay and sat down next to her

"May I?" she asked in all seriousness

"Let's just take one thing at a time, why don't you have the baby first" Brooke said with a chuckle

"Well Rachel" the doctor said reappearing "Your waters have definitely broken and your little…"

"Boy" she answered filled with pride

"Your little boy will be in your arms soon, this could take a while sit back and rest as much as you can because this could be a very long night. Call me if you need anything" she said before taking off her rubber gloves and throwing them in the bin before walking out.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase stood at the bar when his phone rang; he looked at the caller identification and sighed, taking a moment before picking up the phone "Hey" he said waiting for him to respond

"You can't see it but I am waving a white flag right now" Owen said to his friend in a cheeky yet sad sort of way that Chase recognised.

"Why didn't you tell me that you got Rachel pregnant? We usually tell each other that stuff"

"Because if I told you I would have to tell my mum"

"Wait you didn't tell your mum" he said outraged into the phone, only because Owen and his mum were incredibly close and he often ran all his ideas off her.

"I knew that if I told either of you that you would convince me to stay" he said with a small smile thinking of the persuasive power that his best friend and his mum shared and had over him.

"Man" he said and just that word left Owen knowing that he was in for a whole lot of wisdom from Chase Adams' mouth "You don't know what you are depriving yourself of, Screw your independence, something totally amazing is going to happen to you, something that so many people wish for and never get and its right in front of you all you need to do is embrace it"

"I get it" Owen said placing one hand on his forehead

"But if you do decide that you want to do this, don't do it because it's what I wish you would do, do it because you want this, that is what Rachel and that is what your baby deserves"

"Yeah"

"I'm just looking out for what is best for you man" he said with this sad tone in his voice

"I know" he said before they exchanged goodbye and hung up the phone, he had barely placed the phone back under the bar when it began to ring again, he picked up quickly and put it down just as quick as he ran out of TRIC in a hazy daze.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Did I miss it, did I miss it?" he said running into the room, his cheeks flushed red, trying hard to catch his breath, he made a note to himself that he should start running with Nathan in the mornings so next emergency situation he doesn't need to be put on an oxygen machine. Chase looked in on the room where the two girls looked at him with these smirks on their faces, he was worried that when he got here Rachel would be a mess and that a baby would be flying out of her, he had prepared himself for that but instead Rachel sat looking pretty calm on the hospital bed, her red hair tied up in a messy bun, she sat in the hospital gown provided and a pair of love heart socks on her feet, Brooke sat next to her with her feet up on the edge of the bed with a magazine in her lap, what was wrong with them? Shouldn't they be panicking just as much as he was? He asked himself as he leant on the doorway to catch his breath.

"Are you okay there Chase?" Brooke asked with a chuckle in her tone as he stuck his thumb up to indicated a positive response, he finally tore himself away from the wall and walked over to the bed, he stood on the side of the bed that Brooke didn't occupy and took Rachel's hand cautiously, he didn't want to overstep his mark, they hadn't really known each other in high school or in their current lives but Chase felt as though he had to be there for Rachel and her baby because Owen was like a brother to him and if he wasn't going to man up then Chase felt it was his responsibility to stick around. Brooke dropped her magazine as her mobile rang, she excused herself telling them Rachel that it was her parents and that she would save her from the conversation if she wanted her to, Rachel nodded and Brooke walked out of the room as she answered it. Rachel picked up the magazine that Brooke had dropped, she tried to reclaim her hand from Chase but when he refused to let go she turned to him, a look in her eye that without words questioned what was going on, Chase gulped and looked up at her, this sorrow in his eyes "I know Owen's not here but I am and I will stay as long as you want me to" she smiled as he said it and he felt instantly relieved that he could be of some assistance to her, he went to let go of her hand after squeezing it for one last brief moment but as he went to read the latest gossip in another magazine that Brooke had brought with her Rachel grabbed his hand again, he looked up to see a look of pain right across her face and this look of terror in her eyes.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"One last push Rachel" the doctor yelled over all the commotion going on in the room around her, a nurse stood next to the doctor, Brooke was standing just in front of the stirrups and in Rachel's eye line shouting motivation with a face full of enthusiasm and encouragement, Chase stood holding her hand his face fully pale yet his hand was the colour of an angry red, he thought he was going to pass out, Rachel's face was dripping with sweat and her red hair was soaked. "Come on Rachel you need to push"

"Come on Rach" Brooke said with a massive smile on her face as Rachel lay her head back, Brooke was just about to give her some more encouragement when she lifted her head back off the pillow and pushed with all of the energy left in her body, as she continued to push she felt a sudden relief as her baby boy let out a massive cry, A smile came across her face and she leant back, relief flooding over her face as tears streamed down her face. "Rachel he is gorgeous" Brooke said looking down at the baby, tears also streaming down her face.

"Congratulations Rachel" the doctor said as the nurse wrapped the little boy up and placed him on her chest "It's a little baby boy" Rachel burst into tears as her arms came around and wrapped around the small still covered in muck, she kissed the top of his head

"Hello my little man, Hello William Ray" she said before looking up and around to Brooke and Chase who now stood together, Chase's arm over Brooke's shoulders, tears streamed down both their cheeks.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase left Brooke on the roof of balcony in the hospital making phone calls, he wanted to go check on Rachel, to go see how her and her little man were going, he was awestricken by his best friends son, he felt as though he owed it to the little boy and Owen for that matter to be with him for a bit longer. He walked into Rachel's new room in the maternity wing, they had moved her to a cosier, less surgical room for her to rest in and she was doing exactly that, she lay on her side clutching the pillow tightly to her chest, He walked up to her and kissed her on the head before walking to the opposite side of the bed and sitting in the seat that was left empty, the others were already filled with presents. Chase sat there for about five minutes, comforted by the silence, he was pretty exhausted after the whole birth of William thing, and he felt his hand to see if all the squeezing had somehow changed the shape when the nurse who Chase met in the delivery room rolled the clear crib that contained the brunette baby boy. She smiled at him and then walked out of the hospital room leaving all the three of them there. Chase stood up and walked up to the edge of the crib he looked down and smiled, a piece of coloured cardboard sat above his head it said "Hello my name is William Ray Gatina" and then the number of the room was written next to it, Chase looked down at the sleeping boy, he leant in, putting a hand under the little boys head to support his neck, as he lifted him out of the crib the little boys eyes opened and while Chase panicked that the little boy would cry and his tired mother would wake up, William remained quite placid, looking up at Chase. Chase took this opportunity to get out his phone and take a photo of the gorgeous baby boy, he put the phone back in his pocket and turned to a stirring Rachel, and she sat up and looked at the boys a smile sitting on her lips, a smile that she couldn't get off her face and didn't think was going to go away for a long while. Chase walked over to her and carefully put the baby in her arms.

"I'll let you guys have some chilling out time together before you get attacked by visitors" he said with a smile as he went to walk out of the room, Rachel spoke and he turned around to face her

"Hey Chase, can you please tell Owen for me?" she asked, the smile briefly leaving her lips, this was something that she just couldn't do at that moment in time, she was still exhausted, physically and emotionally. Chase felt that words didn't need to be expressed he simply smiled and nodded before walking out again, when he was in the hallway he picked up his phone and typed in Owen's number.

"Hey baby boy" she said as she brushed his tiny hands with her own finger "It's just you and me, and I hope that is okay. I'm going to love you my darling and be there for you, I always will be, I promise. It's just you and me" she repeated before kissing his beautiful head.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Last call for all passengers on the 11 o'clock flight to Tree Hill, Last call for all passengers on the 11 o'clock flight to Tree Hill" the female over the loud speaker bellowed throughout the airport, he got up from his seat in the terminal, and as he went to pick up his luggage his phone beeped indicating that he had a text message. He opened his inbox and saw that it was a message from Chase, and by the format of the message he knew that it was a picture. The subject bar simply said the name "William Ray Gatina", Owen gulped and clicked the button to open the message, the picture was loading but the message above the picture was already shown, Owen sat back down in his chair as he read the words "Meet your Son". The picture loaded and Owen dropped the phone onto the ground before leaning forward in the chair and putting his head in his hands, he burst into tears and cried with the most raw and uncensored wail from his throat, he didn't care that people throughout the airport were looking at him or even scared of him, that didn't matter all that mattered was that he, Owen Morello had a beautiful son and he felt unworthy, unworthy to hold him, unworthy to return.

_This chapter is finished but alas no dice for the story!_


	6. Chapter 6

From now on – Chapter six

Brooke walked out of their bedroom and into the kitchen where her exhausted husband stood with a jug of coffee in his hand; she walked past him and flipped his cup before he poured the coffee all over the bench. It had been two weeks and three days since William Ray Gattina had been born and the last five days the residents of the Baker household hadn't been getting much sleep since then, they were all walking around like zombies. Rachel walked down the steps with the baby monitor in her hand, Brooke wanted to tell her that she didn't need it, that there was no way that they wouldn't be able to hear that baby if it started crying.

"He is finally asleep" she said walking up and sitting on a stool at the bench as Julian passed her a cup of coffee

"Look alive boys" she said directing her gaze to her sons who looked as though they were going to fall asleep during their morning cartoons, she grabbed the coffee from Rachel and handed her an orange juice instead.

Rachel took a sip of the juice and then spoke in a matter of fact tone "I'm moving out" she said it and everyone looked at her a little taken back. "You guys are absolutely exhausted"

"So are you" Brooke said pointing out the very obvious bags under the red heads eyes

"Yes but I am a new mother, I am supposed to be tired, you guys have jobs and kids who don't keep you up all night, you guys need to focus on that not focusing on having to stay awake because of my screaming baby" this wasn't something she was getting emotional over it was a fact and she knew that she would have to move out eventually anyway.

"Where will you go? Will you look for a place in Tree Hill?" she asked kind of upset that she was going to have to say goodbye to a friend that she was just rekindling things with and the gorgeous baby boy who she had already fell in love with.

"Mum called last night, can you remember the cabin that we stayed in at high school?" she asked as Brooke nodded "well mum said that they had just had it renovated and offered it to me"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait that is so far away, Rachel you just had your first baby, we can help you here, me, Julian, Chase and a whole bunch of other people but only if you are in Tree Hill"

"I know that its far away and I know that it is going to be hard but I know I can do this, I know that Will and I will be fine but I also know that if I am in trouble you are a phone call away or a drive"

"I don't want you to go" she sulked as a sleepy Julian put a hand on her shoulder

"It had to happen eventually" she said trying to hide that the idea of leaving Brooke again was making all the emotions and hormones inside of her want to scream. Brooke sniffed, putting a hand on Rachel's, quickly regaining her composure, wiping a tear from her eyes before walking across the bench grabbing Rachel's head and kissing it before picking up her bag.

"Come on boys" she said in a shaky voice as the boys who usually were quick got up rather slowly and stumbled from the couch.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Telling Brooke was hard, she couldn't imagine telling the guy that had been at her side whenever she needed for the past few week, the guy that already adored her baby boy, the guy who had made her coupons for babysitting, the guy that was determined to be a role model to her little boy because his friend wouldn't be, the thought of doing this was unthinkable but she knew she had to. Will was strapped to Rachel's chest, his little arms out the side holding onto his mother's shirt as his little legs kicked with his woollen blue booties, she walked in to TRIC catching the eye of Chase who smiled at the sight of her, but she didn't doubt that the true reason he was smiling was because Will was in the room. His girlfriend Alex turned and smiled too. Rachel made her way to the bar and retrieved the baby out of the carrier and passed him to Alex, he was starting to get restless and so were the adults in the room.

"I'm going to need to see some identification buddy" Chase said with a smile as he played with the baby in Alex's arms, Will grabbed onto his finger and refused to let go, Chase laughed before looking up to Rachel who stood in awe, looking on at what she had created, his greatness, all he could fulfil with his abundance of amazingness. "You look tired; do you want us to take him for the afternoon?"

"I actually need to talk to you" she said as Chase gave Alex a look, he assumed that it had to be something about Owen and he felt that it was a private matter

"Come on baby boy I'm going to give you a tour of red bedroom" she said standing up from the barstool and walking away.

"She looks good with a baby" Rachel said sweeping her hair to the side and taking a seat where Alex was previously sitting.

"Yeah. What has he done now?" Chase asked with this look of seriousness

"He?" she asked with a look of confusion not knowing at all what he was talking about

"Owen, you said something is wrong, that you needed to talk, has he done something?" he asked in full on protective mode

"No" she said realising that the sleep deprivation and preoccupation had led to forgetting about Owen for a week "It has nothing to do with Owen, as a matter of fact I haven't heard from him or thought of him in over a week"

"Then what's going on? What do you need to talk about?" he said now with a smile on his face

"First of all I really want you and Brooke to be William's godparents" she said it with this sheepish smile on her face as he practically jumped over the bar to hug her "Second" she said as he composed himself and leant back up against the bar "I'm moving away"

"Wait what?" he asked all of a sudden confused and a little upset

"My mum has offered me, well us, our family cabin and I'm going to take it, set Will and I a home up, live our lives" she said and she could see the tears in Chase's eyes, there was no doubt that he had formed a connection, she put a hand on his "It's nothing you've done, in fact I wouldn't have survived the last couple of days without you, you've been my rock Chase, but I have to move on, I have to start living a better life for me and for Will"

"I get it" he said continuing to hold her hand, they sat in silence for a moment "Hey Rachel?" he asked and she looked up

"Yeah?"

"Can I take him for the afternoon?" he asked with this look on his face that she found herself not able to deny.

"Of course you can" she saw Chase's smile as the words left her lips.

"Look at this picture" a male voice said from the doorway before they both turned to see Chris Keller holding baby Will with Alex standing behind him looking over his shoulder "You could have had all this with the Keller, Look I usually don't offer twice but if you want the Keller you can have the Keller, I'm sure your body will recover in time"

"Shut up Chris" said Chase as Rachel got up and walked over to him, picking her baby up out of Chris' arms and leaning forward to whisper in Chris' ear, he had this look of childish delight as she went to whisper

"No chance in hell Chris" she said before kissing his cheek and walking back to the bar with a sleepy-eyed William in her arms.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"So when does she leave?" Alex asked as they walked side by side up the boardwalk, keeping a watchful eye on the carrier strapped to her fiancés chest

"Brooke, Julian and the boys are going to drive up with her tomorrow and help her set up and then they will come back and leave her and Will there on their own" he said as he looked down at the sleeping boy on his chest.

"Have you heard from Owen?" she asked as they continued to walk forward

"Nah, not since I called him before Will was born, I didn't hear anything when I texted him through the picture of him, I'm really disappointed, I thought that maybe he would see this guy's little face, fall in love and race to be here, be at his sons side"

"Does Rachel want that? Does she want Owen to swoop in and be part of her or even his life?"

"I don't know, she always looks so hurt when I bring him up" he said looking down as Alex put a hand on his shoulder, they were at the river court waiting for Chuck, Chase had promised him that he would help him practice, Chase disconnected a sleeping Will from his chest and back into Alex's doting arms. Chase walked up to the court as Alex held Will up in the air

"Hey dude" Chuck asked as he threw the ball "Are you and Alex going to have a baby?"

"What?" Chase asked shocked letting the basketball hit him in the stomach, he lurched over for a second before standing back up and looking at Chase "What makes you think that?"

"You and Alex have been spending all your time with William, look at her she has got baby face"

"Baby face?" he laughed while getting delivered the 'don't laugh at me I am serious' face from Chuck "Look man, Will is like you, he doesn't have a dad" just saying the words hurt him, and made him hate Owen "well not a dad that is around, We've got to stick together" that answer seemed to satisfy Chuck's fears and questions.

X-x-x-x-x-x

It had been hard to say goodbye to the little community of people that had accumulated outside the café to say goodbye to her and her little boy, especially Chase who's eyes welled up when the door was shut on the baby boy in the back seat sleeping peacefully away blissfully unaware of everything surrounding him, She had promised that any chance she got she would come back to Tree Hill for a visit, that he was always welcome to come and visit and that she would send him as many pictures as he required, but it still was incredibly hard to say goodbye to him, not because she had romantic feelings towards him it was just this abundant love and devotion that he had for the baby boy, originally she would have assumed that it was due to this feeling of guilt and empathy nothing more but looking at them interacting she knew that he had well and truly fallen for this little guy. On the road they drove, stopping at a baby furniture that Brooke, Julian and the boys joined her at for some manic baby shopping, it was hard not to laugh as all three of Brooke's boys ran back and forth from the toy section showing them 'cool as' toys that they should 'totally' get for Will. She didn't have the heart to stop them but she didn't have the funds to support them so when they went on wild toy raids she and Brooke would find the cutest ones in the pile and put the not so cute one's back down into the store. They paid for the masses of furniture and decorations, toys basically whatever you could think of and piled her car up with it, Will sat on the right side sleeping as boxes and bags sat piled next to him and behind him, they had put her suitcase on the middle seat and as she looked behind her to check on her sleeping baby she found herself shocked that this much stuff fitted in her car. As the drove into the secluded town memories came flashing back to her, holidays, fights, first loves, crushes, first times and she felt herself smiling, she hoped that this was a good decision, she hoped that Will would enjoy a good upbringing just hopefully with more parent input, But her last vivid memory was when she had come up for the Sunkist tour with the rest of the tree hill group, it was so much fun, she sat there wondering what Brooke was thinking in the car behind them.

Brooke chuckled gleefully in the passenger seat, her two boys sitting in the back watching a movie and fighting to keep their eyes open, her husband sat down next to her with a cheeky grin on his face, the one he always got when his wife laughed or smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" he said diverting his attention from the road back to his ever so gorgeous wife

"I was just remembering the last time I was here" she said giving him her killer smile before facing the window "great memories, Nathan stole Haley's wedding band and Lucas accidently gave it back to her…" Julian had heard this story many times but he loved that his wife still killed herself laughing as she recalled it "I was in charge of getting it back off her"

"And how did that go for you?"

"Let's just say her watch was never the same after I dropped it in the toilet" she said with another laugh

"What else do you remember from here?" she thought back, most of it was being with Lucas but she really didn't want to bring that up with Julian, and the other thing she remembered wasn't something she wanted to tell him when their kids were in listening distance "Skills and Bevin got lost in the woods and I….. Kissed Pete Wentz" she said with this massively sheepish grin on her face, Julian looked at her shocked, although she had reminisced with him about this part of her life for some reason she had never actually mentioned it to him, maybe because she knew it meant nothing and barely registered it as a moment other than when she wanted some massive celebrity bragging rights, but even then she had others to recount.

"You kissed Pete Wentz? Fall out boy's Pete Wentz?" he asked as she nodded with this crazy smile on her face "But I thought Peyton had the thing with Fall out Boy's boy" he stated confused as he looked at the road before abruptly turning to face her "Wait please tell me that this wasn't a whole Lucas like scenario or even worse please tell me you didn't share him" he practically pleaded

"No of course not" she said gently slapping his forearm "Peyton was talking the whole trip up how Pete Wentz was supposed to be coming and we were calling him her imaginary friend, so when I walked into the kitchen the next morning he was standing there making breakfast and I thought it was a dream so I walked up and kissed him" she said with a laugh

X-x-x-x-x-x

They finally finished there long trip in the driveway of the massive cabin, Rachel jumped out of the car and walked to Will's side of the car she opened the door before turning around just to look at the house, she smiled as out of the corner of her eye and mind a car parked and two boys excitedly ran into the mass of outdoors, there reaction to the place or maybe it was the reaction of finally being able to get out of the car reminded Rachel of when she was about their age and her family would drive up, she wouldn't be able to sleep the whole trip down because she was just too excited and when they finally she would unbuckle her seatbelt, jump out of the car and spend the rest of the day, or until her mum told her to come inside, running around and having a blast.

"JUDE, DAVIS" she yelled from where she stood at the passenger side door of the car

"Don't worry babe I've got them" Julian said as he ran past Rachel's line of vision, she smiled at him and then moved back to imagining her life here, she awoke back into reality when Brooke put an arm around her waist, she smiled and turned to face the friend she thought she would never speak to again, let alone be here with again or sharing children and lives together, she linked her arm to Brooke's waist and they just stood there admiring the greatness that sat before them.

"Great memories?" Brooke asked and sort of stated at the same time as Rachel nodded

"Only the greatest"

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

*Authors note* so this story is going to have a bit of a time jump, I have left it off with Rachel coming to Tree Hill incredibly pregnant and rekindling her friendship with Brooke, Brooke finding out that the baby's father is Owen and well now Chase knows too! Actually Chase found out first, Now Rachel has had baby William Ray Gatina, notice that she didn't add Owen's last name to the mix. Chase sent Owen a picture of baby Will and he broke down at the airport on the way to Tree Hill but now Rachel has moved to her families cabin (which you may recognise from the Sunkist tour that the Tree Hill teens went to in season 3 with Pete Wentz being Peyton's Snuffleupicas) with baby Will of course and is ready to start a new life just her and her baby boy, so that is where I left off now here is where I am going next; William is just shy of his fifth birthday, Rachel is in a stable relationship. Owen has remained out of their lives, never returned a phone call or a text, never sent a birthday card. But what is going to happen when a situation forces Owen to re think things and possibly be involved in his son's life for the first time ever? Will Rachel let him back into her and her son's life even though he has just let her go in the past? You'll have to read it to see it!

From now on – chapter seven 

"And he is out" he said as she turned her body to face him, she stood in her robe that hugged her figure perfectly, flowing slightly in the wind, she smiled just at the sight of him.

"You are my king" he walked towards her, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows a silly grin on his face

"Say it properly" he said smirking as he walked up to her and pressed his body against hers so she was against the railing of the balcony that she stood upon his lips pressed to her neck

"Drew Johnson you are my king" she said with a giggle as he continued to smooch her "Can you please remind me why you have to leave?" she asked with a sulky tone turning her head to face him as much as she could

"Babe I've got to work, but you know what?" he asked with a smile

"What?" she asked his words whispered in her ear so sensually

"This is the last time I have to leave for this long, next week you're going to be my gorgeous sugar mama and I am just going to be your fiancé"

"My fiancé" she said turning around to face him "I love the sound of that"

"Babe" he said after kissing her "Have you been thinking about me adopting Will? It is something I really want to do" his romantic and sensual tone had turned to want and seriousness

"It's not that simple" she said putting her hands on her forehead and regretting the moment when she had asked Chase to fly to New York and get Owen to sign the birth certificate, she didn't know, she never asked how Chase had managed to get a guy who didn't even want to acknowledge the existence of his own son to sign on the dotted line under the title of 'father', she regretted it immensely at this very moment, those lines of communication were going to be opened up again and something that she could have decided so easily on her own like every other moment in Will's life now had been placed in Owen's hands and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to have that power. She knew that every moment, every day that they waited Drew became more and more frustrated and upset by the fact that he wasn't Will's dad even though for the past three years he was the only father figure other than Chase in Will's life, but he didn't want to push her, the subject of Will's biological father always upset her.

"Do you know that your kid is reading like a pro now?" he asked with a big cheesy grin "I'm so proud, I think I am going to take him into that book store tomorrow and let him get whatever books he wants"

"I love it when you turn into a proud dad like that" she said throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him hard against the lips, he pulled at her robe to reveal the underwear that she wore so well under it and as he began to kiss down her neck and to her chest their bedroom door opened and the this quite little voice entered the room

"Mummy" he said sticking his head through the crack he had made in the doorway, she pushed Drew off her and pulled the two sides of her robe together, tying the knot around her middle and then rushing to the doorway where her little brunette stood in his dark blue pyjamas and his cheeky grin that he knew perfectly well would get him anything that he wanted.

"What's wrong darling? You're supposed to be in bed" she said with a stern tone knowing full well that nothing was wrong, that he was avoiding going to sleep and wanted to spend some extra boy time with Drew or even some Mummy time with her.

"There is a car outside" he said his cheeks tinged with red, she looked back at Drew who had sat down on their big king sized bed with a smile on his face

"How could you see the car William your curtains were shut?" she asked not mad, sort of amused at her sons antics, she wasn't going to be the type of parent that rolled over and let her kid get away with anything but she also wasn't going to be the sternest mother in the world and the truth was she didn't have to, if she did say so herself she and the people around her had helped to shape a very well rounded boy with a well-rounded personality.

"I don't know mama, I just saw it" he said shrugging her shoulders

"Come on honey it is time for bed" she said taking his hand "It's probably just Drew's car, he parked it in a different spot today" she said heading towards the door, but Will let go of his mums hand and refused to budge.

"No mama it wasn't Drew's car, It had its lights on" he said as Rachel suddenly go down at his level, she wasn't overly concerned about it, William had a big imagination but this wasn't something that he would make up, this scenario was too boring for him, if it was his own imaginary story instead of a car it would be a submarine or an elephant, so she again looked back at Drew, ,he understood the meaning of the look, it was a 'you're the man of the house can you please check', he stood up and walked in the direction of the balcony. Rachel felt herself getting very protective of her little cub, bending down, throwing an arm around his middle and hoisting him onto her hip. She kept repeating it is probably nothing, it was probably someone just driving past or someone that was lost, it was sort of odd that there was a car this far out at the time of night, they were about thirty minutes away from town in a very secluded area, the nearest neighbour about five minutes away.

"I'll deal with it" Drew said as he walked through the bedroom and past Rachel

"Wait is someone there?" Rachel said with all this panic setting in, what the hell was going on? Why was someone sitting outside their home?

"Babe just relax and stay up here with Will, I'll go see what is going on"

"Please be careful" she said as he headed out the door, she kissed her sons forehead and then as protective she was she put Will in the middle of the bed and turned the cartoon channel on deciding that if something action packed was going to go down tonight at her house and not in her bedroom that Lingerie probably would be the greatest choice of clothing. She threw on her yoga pants and a t-shirt before sitting down on the bed with her son; he was surprisingly not fazed by anything that was happening around them. Rachel couldn't take it anymore; she kissed Will's head before telling him to stay exactly where he was before she darted down the stairs, she slowly opened the door and as she walked outside the car sped off leaving Drew standing there incredibly confused "Where are you going?" he yelled out, she walked up to Drew and wrapped her arms around his waist

"Is everything okay?" she asked resting her chin on his shoulder

"It was just some guy that got lost on his way out of town, but it was weird"

"What was weird?" she asked

"I was in the middle of telling him how to get back into town and then you walked out and he had this look on his face and he put his foot down like a brick on the accelerator and drove out"

"That is weird" she said with a smile on her face "Now come on we were supposed to be making the best out of your last night in town weren't we"

"Oh do you have something planned" he said turning around, her arms remaining around his neck as his draped around her middle, he kissed her hard on the lips

"You bet I do" she said with a laugh as he groaned against her lips, before letting go taking her hand and walking towards the house.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Are you ready?" she asked as he walked over to their bed, he sat down and smiled, he kissed her lips a hand came up between them and they both laughed

"Get a room" the little boy demanded with a smile "The movie is about to start" he said taking the bowl of popcorn from his soon to be stepfather

"This is the perfect way to send me off" he said with a smile

"What can I say? I'm perfect" she said with a laugh throwing a handful of popcorn in her mouth, she looked to her fiancé who sat with this mischievous grin and then to her son who sat clutching the blue plastic bowl filled with popcorn whilst telling Drew to be quiet, Drew responded to this by tickling the little boy sending the popcorn flying and the little boy into fits of giggles, although now there was melted butter and popcorn floating around in her bed she couldn't help but laugh at all that surrounded her.

X-x-x-x-x-x

It had been hard for not only Rachel to say goodbye for two weeks to her fiancé but it had been harder watching her son say goodbye to him, her son was very affectionate and had grown increasingly attached to Drew who had been spending more and more time with them. He worked at an insurance company in New York, Drew would often come back for a week or so and then fly back for two weeks for full time working, he owned the business and had worked on making it and his staff pretty self-sufficient and now he was going back for the last time in a while to make sure that everything was running smoothly so he could just work via an internet connection and be with his little family. Will ran ahead, she liked to keep him in her sights but she knew that he knew how to get home and worst case scenario they were both holding a walkie talkie.

"Ten four trucking buddy" she said holding down the button

"What mama?" hers rang back and she felt herself smiling at him; she could hear him not only in her walkie talkie but just beyond the bushes in front of her.

"Don't you run too fast, Over and out" she said making the end of conversation noise. She continued to walk in silence, just thinking away to herself about her life and how much she was going to miss her snuggle buddy over the next couple of weeks. She just strolled watching the scenery contemplating how different her life had become since high school even in the last nearly five years, her life had changed so dramatically and it was all for the better. Rachel was dragged out of her haze by her son screaming "MUMMMMMMMY" with this terror in his voice, she picked up the pace and sprinted to her sons side, she hoisted him onto her hip and looked on at the house in front of her, her own house. In the open doorway was now blocked by a massive figure, she found herself stepping back, and under her breath she mumbled "What the f…"

To be continued!

Let me know what you think, and what you think is going to happen next. It might be obvious, it might not.


	8. Chapter 8

From now on – chapter eight

As she stood looking on at the tall man standing on their porch with her five year old son on her hip, her brain was taken to a world wind of places, what was he doing here? What did he want from her? How did he know where they lived? But when her sons warm hands clutched at the back of her neck she turned on her protective mother function, she kissed his cheek and put him down on the ground, attempting to get his attention focused upon her when all he wanted to do was get a good look of the big tall man on their porch, she put her hands on his arms and turned him towards her, she knew that he was too pathetic to make a move towards them at this very moment

"Who is it mama?" Will asked still trying to turn his head to look at the guy, his mum bringing him back any time

"Don't you worry about that baby, everything is fine but can you do a massive favour for me bubba?" she asked again having to drag his concentration back to her as he nodded "I left something at Mrs Frank's house, could you run back and get it for me?"

"What is it mama?" he asked, still young enough to believe that the true reason his mother was sending him away had nothing to do with the stranger on the doorstep

"You just tell Mrs Frank's that I sent you and to call me when you get there okay? She'll know what it is" she said with a smile as she hugged him and sent him away, getting out of her 'pretend everything is fine' mode and turning into protective woman who stormed up the porch after watching her son walk into the distance

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said stomping up the steps

"I'm sorry for just showing up" he said taking in a gulp, scared to look at her in the eye

"I'll forgive you if you walk away right now" she said looking him up and down as she put her hands on her hips, she could clearly see that he was a wreck, that he was falling apart but she couldn't care about that, it didn't matter to her. She was forced to stop caring when he impregnated her and refused to do his part.

"He is so grown up, what is he five now?" Owen said sniffing trying to hide his red eyes "It's seems like just yesterday"

"Seems like just yesterday since what Owen?" she asked starting to get pissed off by all that he was trying to say, she wished that he would get to the point of his little impromptu visit "Since you made the decision to not be a part of your son's life?"

"I signed the birth certificate"

"By the force of Chase. I know that the only reason that you signed it was because I sent him there and you couldn't let him down again. It was you last night wasn't it?"

He wasn't ready to answer by his eyes and his car were telling a different story, his wheels coincidently fitting perfectly into the grooves he had made the night before "So I guess that guy last night was the guy that you have picked to replace me" she let out a massive outraged laugh

"Replace you? You don't even exist in my kids mind. I'm sick of this" she said rubbing her forehead with her hand "Owen look at me and tell me in full honesty why you are here? Standing on my porch, why?" she watched as he looked down at his own shoes and then gained the courage to look up at her perfect eyes, god he wished he didn't have to look into them "Just tell me why?"

"I want to be in Williams life" she let out a sigh and he could tell that she was on the verge of tears but also incredibly angry, angry at the world but especially angry at him

"WHY NOW?" she yelled exasperated, that was one thing that she loved about living so secluded from the world, she could yell and scream, she especially appreciated it the week she tried to apply the 'self-soothe' method of sleeping for Will, he had screamed, she had sat in her closet bawling her eyes out and there was not one complaint from the neighbours of child abuse because Hey she didn't have any neighbours, no one snooping in her business.

"I won't lie, when I got the adoption papers in the mail it was kind of this wakeup call in my mind that I had a son and that I needed to be in his life" Owen continued to look down at his shoes

"Why not before?" she asked choking back tears, he didn't deserve her tears, not now. Not again. Not ever.

"Can we sit down?" he asked wiping the perspiration from his hands onto his jeans, she nodded and indicated to the deck chairs, there was no way he earned the right to step into their world and once he had stepped in the front door he was officially in their world "The day that Will was born I was set to fly to Tree Hill" she gulped, trying to hide the startled look that she predicted was on her face, she had never known that he had come to Tree Hill "I made it to the airport and I was about to board the plane, I got this picture message from Chase with our son's name all it said was 'meet your son' and I looked at the perfect little nose, his chubby cheeks and those Rachel inherited lips" he said the last part with a laugh as she tried not to look at him but unconsciously touched her lips "I broke down right there in the airport terminal, cried the hardest I have ever cried before, so loud that they called security. Do you want to know why?" the look that she gave him was enough of an answer "Because as I looked at our gorgeous son I felt unworthy, I felt as though I didn't deserve him and that you and Will would be so much better without me, I was a mess, am a mess and because of that I left my kid" he started crying again and while she wanted to go over pat him on the back give him some sort of soothing Rachel stayed perfectly still

"What makes you think that you are worthy now?" she asked like the prim and proper psychologist, pushing her sunglasses onto her face in an attempt to hide her glassy eyes

"I'm not, what I have realised is that I'm never going to be but that means nothing, He is my son and he deserves his dad. I'm never going to be worthy if I'm not in the race" he said looking up from where he leant from his knees

"What if I don't want you in his life?" she leant back as far as she could in the chair and adjusted herself to be sitting in a more comfortable position

"That's the thing I'm on the birth certificate, I don't want to but if I have to I can take it to court" he said it with this apologetic gleam in his eye as if to tell her that he was incredibly serious about this whole idea and solution that he had created in his own mind.

Rachel threw her head back in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose "Look, This isn't about me, this is about William" she would always use his full name when she was serious or when she was telling him off "Whatever he wants, I want. Well except for that stupid monster truck" she saw him laugh and she just glared "What he says goes right?" she asked and he nodded "in saying that, you still have to play by my rules, don't forget that. He is my whole life and I will fight till the death to protect him"

"I get it" Owen said leaning forward

"You don't get any say in how I am raising him" she watched as he nodded along and then she let out another loud sigh, she had promised herself that if Owen Morello waltzed back into her life and demanded to be a part of Will's she would literally use her high heels to kick him to the curb but Will had always needed and craved a male role model in his life and she didn't want to deprive him of anything, she thought of how a teenage William would react to the idea that his father had wanted to be in his life and she had said no "Maybe, just maybe you can come around for dinner tonight, meet him." She saw the smile on his face "We aren't telling him who you are yet, unless he directly asks ME there will be no confessions tonight, okay?"

"Okay" this was the most nerve racking and exciting moment in pretty much his whole life.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"where did he go?" the little vulnerable voice of her five year old asked as she practically pushed him away from where Owen had stood on the porch and into the house

"He went home buddy" she watched as his face turned to a sort of disappointed look on his face "But he is going to come over and have dinner with us"

"Who is he mama?" he asked looking up at her with his clear Morello eyes

"He is just a friend of mine, now go and clean up all the Lego on your bedroom floor" she said practically feeling the pain of stepping on it earlier when she had gone to put clean clothes in his cupboard  
>"Hey ma" he said turning to her as he walked out of the room "Can we have pizza?" he asked with his cute irresistible smile<p>

"Sure we can" she knew that he didn't know that he was about to meet his father but she still wanted to make it as easy as she could for him and that meant that if he wanted pizza he was going to get it. Rachel made sure that he was out of the room before she reached for her phone and ran upstairs to her bedroom, stepping into her walk in wardrobe and taking a seat in her favourite corner, she dialled and he answered on the third ring "Hey Chase" she said with a smile as he gasped on the other end of the phone

"My god that sounds like my friend Rachel, but that is impossible I haven't heard from her in weeks, she has been busy off in the land of sex and good times according to Brooke"

"Get a grip, I talked to you last week and if that is your way of asking how my boys are then they are all good, Drew flew back to work today but other than that we are all happy, happy, Joy, Joy. How are your girls?" she asked referring to Chase's wife Alex and their two year old daughter Lila

"Keeping me on my toes, Chris baby sat the other day, pretty funny" he said with a laugh "But I know you're not calling to hear about how Chris covered our apartment with cake mixture, what's going on ginger?" they had never been close in high school, mainly because they never got the chance to be but ever since she had had this little baby he was a massive support system for her and because of that they had become quite close

"Did you tell Owen where we lived?" she asked shutting the door with her foot and rubbing her palm on the forehead she swore was wrinkly

"Please don't be mad but I may have. Why?" he asked and she could hear the concern in his voice

"He showed up on my doorstep last night and today" she said closing her eyes, semi wishing that it was all a bad dream

"Crap Rachel I'm sorry. When he asked where you guys were living I figured he was going to send you a letter or try and get into contact with you, I didn't think that he would just show up on your doorstep. Is Will okay?"

"Will is fine; he doesn't have a clue who Owen is. The kid just thinks Owen is my spikey haired friend but that might have all changed by tonight"

"What do you mean?" Chase asked, it was like being between a rock and a hard place, since the moment Rachel showed up at TRIC pregnant and emotional he had wanted his best friend to step up and take some sort of action and responsibility for his son so this news was kind of exciting for him but on the other hand, Rachel was tormented by the fact that Owen had refused to be in their son's life, she had cried many tears, been incredibly sleep deprived and practically raised this kid on her own when Owen flaked and he wanted the best for her.

"He is coming around for Dinner tonight, we're not going to tell Will about who he is for a while though, keep it casual and simple"

"How is Drew dealing with all of this? Especially because he is so far away now"

"ah you know" Rachel said wanting to punch herself for forgetting to tell Drew about it all, but she could justify it, she didn't know where all of this was going to lead and what was the point of kicking up a fuss if it amounted to nothing?

"You haven't told him yet have you?" Chase asked with this smirk on his face, not because he didn't want Rachel to tell Drew but because he knew her pretty well

"I haven't had a chance to smart ass" she said with a laugh as her closet door opened and her smiling son looked at her "What's up buddy?"

"Your Spikey friend is here mama" he said with his cheeky smile as he swayed forwards and backwards with the 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' look on his face

"Okay" she said instantly regretting her decision but standing up never the less "You talk to Uncle Chase" she said passing him the phone and kissing his head before running out of the room, checking herself out in the mirror. Okay despite the dreaded state of her hair she was looking pretty good and the hair she could fix with a simple bun atop of her head. Rachel walked down the stairs and braced herself for an evening that she could never come back from. She could see him standing on the edge of the deck, swaying backwards and forwards just as she had watched her son do less than three minutes ago, Rachel took a deep breath and then swung the door open, her turned around and let out a sigh of relief

"I thought you had changed your mind" he said with a smile

"Don't give me the option" she said opening the door and stepping back so that he could enter

"I didn't know what you wanted for dinner, or if I was supposed to bring anything so I just brought pizza" she laughed to herself, he was clearly trying

"Pizza is great." She could hear her son running down the hallway "Just play by the rules"

"Coooooooool!" he over exaggerated as he came to a stop near his mother "Pizza" she could see him practically drooling and she knew that Owen was already in the good books. Will looked up to his mum and passed her the phone "Uncle Chase said to say hi to mama's spikey friend" Will said as Rachel smiled knowing full well that that was Chase's attempt at letting Owen know that he was watching him and for him to be on his best behaviour.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Are you ready for bed mister?" she asked as she wrapped her light pink cardigan around herself and walked into her son's dark blue space themed bedroom, knowing full well that Owen was still sitting in their living room, possibly even within earshot. The night went pretty well considering the awkwardness and obliviousness from their shared child, but Will was all good and that was all that mattered.

"Yaha" he said throwing his pyjama clad legs into his bed and watching as his mum came over to him "He is pretty cool mama"

"Yeah he is" she said as she sat down at his toes

"Mama, who is he?" she knew that William was perceptive but this was a new high for him, she had remembered earlier that day telling Owen that unless Will directly asked her that he wouldn't know that he was his father and she while she wanted to she wasn't about to undermine their agreement and renege her promise

"Baby" she said taking his small feet in her hands before joining him in his bed, throwing one arm over him wondering how in the world she was going to start this conversation "You know how Mike from school was teasing you because you didn't have a dad?" she looked down at him and his little face nodded back at her "And you asked me who he was? I told you that I would tell you all about him when you were a little bit older, well honey now that you are five I think I can tell you that Spikey Owen is your dad" she gulped as she finished and he stayed silent, processing it all maybe, she really didn't have a clue and then his big brown eyes looked up into hers

"Cool" he said not really smiling or frowning, just very matter of factly "Can he stay here with us?" Will asked and she knew that she could see Owen's shadow

"If he wants to he can stay. On the COUCH" she yelled for Owen's benefit

X-x-x-x-x-x

Rachel sat in bed catching up on a good dose of reality television; it always made her feel better. It wasn't that she was sad, if Owen really wanted to be involved in their son's life then that was probably for the best but she had this unsettled feeling down in her gut and then her phone rang, great it was the phone call that she was dreading. How was she supposed to tell the guy that was so willing to be William's father figure and even adopt him that his biological father was all of a sudden back in the picture and sleeping on the couch that he had watched every super bowl on since they had been together on?

"Hey baby" she answered, realising that she couldn't avoid this conversation forever

"I'm so glad I get to hear your voice" he sounded exhausted "Back to back meetings all afternoon long, if one more person questions my judgement or doesn't do what I ask them to do I swear I will snap" okay so maybe tonight wasn't the best time to rip this band-aide off.

"Drew I'm really sorry but Will is calling out for me, I have to run. Can I call you back?"

"Yeah sure" she could hear the disappointment in his phone as she hung up, picking up her doona, walking to the door, turning the lights and television off before stepping out into the hallway and sitting on the top step where she could clearly see Owen laying. He was wide awake, and she knew that he could see her but neither of them made a move they just looked at each other intently as the night progressed, Owen with his hands under his head and Rachel as a giant marshmallow her frame engulfed by her king size duvet cover.

To be continued


End file.
